<p>I'm not trying to be racist here or anything, but I've observed something that a lot of you may have, too. I used to go to a school with nearly all Asians and some whites, but now I go to one that is now predominantly African-American and Hispanic. Why is it that people of these latter races tend to be less intellectually gifted than Asian and White races? I mean, I'm not saying that there aren't people like that who are also Asian and White, but I'm talking about the majority. Sometimes I hear groups of them saying the stupidest things when I pass by them during periods that I would never hear Asians or Whites saying. Same thing with college admissions (AA) and testing: SAT, ACT, etc...why? Why has evolution and genetics played such a selective role?</p>
<p>I think that it’s based on culture.</p>
<p>And I think what you said is absolutely untrue and completely racist, no offence.</p>
<p>Smelling a ■■■■■ here…</p>
<p>^^ No it isn’t. It’s the facts from observations that I’ve obtained ever since I was little kid. I was in gifted classes and now AP and honors classes, and there is rarely anyone in those classes who are not Asian or White. I’m just wondering why this is so and it’s left me curious since I was young.</p>
<p>en.wikipedia.org/wiki/anecdotal_evidence</p>
<p>^^I really hope you’re ■■■■■■■■, because if not, this is really sad.</p>
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<p>I can’t understand how this even in any way testifies to the intelligence of an individual. A person can say whatever he wants and, precisely as Wartsandall said, his manner of speech, behavior, and values are direct results of the culture that he is a part of— perhaps what they say are not acceptable to you, but that’s a result of a difference in value and what is acceptable to each person. </p>
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<p>How do you define “intelligence”? Studies have long debunked that Asians have higher IQs than other races, in case you didn’t know. If you mean academic achievement, that, again, has a lot to do with personal values, the values of the close society which the person is in, and the availability of resources that would make high academic performance attainable. </p>
<p>Not all people our age think that being nerdy and bookish is acceptable— in fact, in certain social groups you will be shunned for reading a book in the library instead of acting cool and going out to drink with your friends. Most people have trouble defying the social norm and therefore risking being rejected rather than following the crowd. </p>
<p>Not all families support the endeavors of their child to attend college instead of finding work at a local store after high school graduation, nor are all parents willing to pay for their child to go to expensive boarding schools or spend money to send their child to SAT prep classes. Not everyone even thinks college admissions or those test scores that you’re obsessed with is important. This has nothing to do with genetics or evolution---- there are even more genetic difference within any racial group than among the groups.</p>
<p>/my participation in the discussion.</p>
<p>You can’t group everyone into one set of people like that. There are dumb white folks and there are smart white folks. Be careful with generalizations; Steriotypes are a stone’s throw away from racisim.</p>
<p>Anywho, most of it is their history in America. Remember that discrimination against African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Latinos have created a significant barrier in education that will take a very long period of time to recover from. Even woman haven’t completly recovered from the barrier that existed all the way up to the sufferage movement in the 20th century. Conversly, there has never been organized racism against Asian Americans outside of the Japaneese internment camps durring WWII.</p>
<p>I don’t think OP’s ■■■■■■■■. I think they’re asking a question they’re honestly curious about.</p>
<p>because of environment</p>
<p>trufflie isnt a ■■■■■</p>
<p>There’s a difference between reality and what we want to be true. Of course we want that every race to be equally intelligent, but that is most likely untrue because such phenomenon would require perfect intelligence parity among the races. Perfection, as we know, almost does not exist.</p>
<p>Regardless, the most influential factor on the behavior of the different races is nonetheless culture, though intelligence disparity may play a minor role.</p>
<p>Maybe you should retake US History and might I dare say, think about it. After you have an intellectual thinking session, then you should be able to answer your own question.</p>
<p>It’s not racist. I’m not going to bother to search out specific studies, but it is true that black and hispanic students, on average, perform lower than whites and asians.</p>
<p>However, blacks and hispanics are also on average poorer than whites and asians, and when adjusted students in the same economic ranges perform similarly despite race.</p>
<p>Culture is probably part of it too. I think there is a stigma against ‘acting white’ in minority communities, and excelling academically is part of that.</p>
<p>It’s not that AA and Latinos are “less intellectual” its just that academic excellence is not always the first priority. As an AA female I always strived to do my best when it came to grades, challenging myself, taking APs, doing well on exams because I love to learn in general. But not everyone shares my interests. I’d say that 8 percent of my school population is AA. And in that percentage most of the AA males are football/basketball players. Most of the AA females are in cosmetology, dance, etc (not trying to generalize, just a slight observation).</p>
<p>guise she’s ■■■■■■■■</p>
<p>don’t feed the trollz.</p>
<p>@Aman13 </p>
<p>I felt compelled to respond to your assertion that there were no organized racism against Asian Americans. Please refer to Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, where Chinese are specifically targeted with punitive and discriminatory immigration policy. In addition, Chinese laborers that were “imported” (more often they were sold) to the US to work in the Gold Rush, and railroad during the 1800s lived as virtual slaves. They were also banned from living anywhere except within designated areas like “Chinatown”. </p>
<p>These policies prevented their assimilation into mainstream society and deprived them of any education or better work prospects.</p>
<p>Ickglue, i never knew all that.
Here’s what i think. The asians that you see here in usa are probably smarter than the average asian person in what ever counrty they are in over there. And here we group them all together, but if you call a south korean chinese they get offended. I know from experience 
But I think theres probably plenty of less smart people everywhere, even in the usa.</p>
<p>It’s the intellectual environment you are given that makes you intelligent in the end IMO. Someone could be a ‘slow’ and not a very bright young child but if they are raised in an intellectually stimulating environment, they could become incredibly smart. And the OP cannot generalise as he is speaking from all the students that he has attended school with (not very many compared to the population of the world).</p>
<p>^ This. While I too often generalize to nearly racist degrees, it’s true that our upbringing develops our character. A combination of culture, childhood, and educational experience play large roles in determining how we are perceived by others when we are grown up. </p>
<p>Ever stop and think that maybe the African-Americans at your school didn’t have much while growing up? Or maybe their teachers didn’t help them out as much as other kids? While we might not want to think it, there are many instances of subconscious racism or racial preference along the way. It all adds up to the end product that we see.</p>
<p>It could also have something to do with media and public image. We see so many instances of shootings, crimes, and violence involving black men and women that we gradually place this image of stupidity and low intellect on any black people we see.</p>
<p>HeWhoPwnz, awesome comment. People in general drastically underestimate how much stereotype threat and subconscious biases affect both how others perceive disadvantaged groups and how they perceive themselves, and how those perceptions shape life decisions and result in difference. I see it in discussions of both sex differences and race differences–people are way too hasty to pick heredity or “hard wiring” as the reason for any observed difference. But culture has a huge and an insidious effect on everything. On brains especially, which are extremely plastic and adaptable to the environment.</p>